Jaune Arc, Tactician
by Lord Forehead
Summary: When Jaune drops Professor Port's class he starts a chain of events that puts him in an advanced tactics course. Can Jaune keep up? Rated T so I can play with some themes in my head.
1. Welcome to Class

Jaune Arc, Tactician

Jaune loved Beacon. But sometimes the default classes he was assigned were not a shining point on Beacon's record. This morning's class was a prime example: Proper Grimm care with Professor Port.

"Psst, Ren." Jaune whispered.

"Way ahead of you." He replied as he finished up typing into his scroll and began to gather his things.

The two members of JNPR stayed through the lecture before leaving as quick as possible. They walked towards their room while chatting.

"So what class are you going to take instead?" Ren asked as they walked.

Jaune stopped for a second as the question rolled around in his mind. What type of class would he sign up for?

Beacon, naturally, was different from all his past schooling with their class schedule. Every term they would give him a list of classes that were required to take that term and a list of ones that he take as electives. The idea was that it allowed students to become more rounded Huntsmen or Huntresses. It wasn't like the school had different degrees he could take but rather it gave the students a way of being more diverse in their skill sets when they left the halls of Beacon.

His mind went first to Ren as an example. He often took courses in philosophy and history. He was already a great fighter so he chose to strengthen his mind. Nora, on the other hand, took courses about dust. Her reasoning was that she wanted to learn how to make her explosive rounds "more explosive". Then there was Pyrrha who simply took whatever class sounded like fun. She had skills in just about every area and so it didn't matter what she took.

"I haven't thought about it too much" Jaune sheepishly answered, as he snapped back to reality. "What about you? Have anyth-"

Jaune was interrupted by Nora landing on Ren's back. "Ren you should join me in my Explosives class."

"Nora, we've been over this. My weapons don't fire explosive rounds." Ren explained, for what sounded like the umteenth time.

"Right now yes but after this class..." She climbed down and opened the door for her teammates "You too could wield the power of BOOM."

Jaune know that his teammates argument was already over and began to go through his list of alternatives. Pyrrha joined them shortly after. The powerful redhead collected her shower gear and left. She was taking a special course in prep for the tournament that would be held during the Vytal festival.

When she returned Jaune was looking a sickly green with Ren trying to comfort him with Nora trying to distract him with jokes.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha called, "Are you okay?"

"I-I have to... look for yourself," Handing her his scroll. Pyrra looked over the list of classes he could take a found a common theme. They all were full. Of course with the exception of the one he just dropped.

"You never know, someone else might drop to take-" She stopped short knowing no one was going to willingly take Professor Port's course.

"I think I going to go running." Jaune said suddenly standing and leaving the room. The rest of Team JNPR knew not to try and stop him.

After a few laps Jaune stopped to let his screaming muscles rest. He had ended up near the sky docks where Ironwoods ships had made their temporary home. He let his mind wander for a few moments before setting to the problem at hand.

"Alright Jaune, you are going to have to suffer through this term. What have we learned?" His inner voice nudged. It almost sounded like Pyrrha to him.

"I need to sign up for classes the day they become available not wait till I'm thrown into one. But-" He frowned at his thoughts. "What am I even going to take?"

"Nothing combat related. Still too weak. I mean Pyrrha has helped me with that but I'm not quite to the level everyone else is. Dust based classes aren't any help when my weapon can't even use it. I could do history courses like Ren... But I could never stay awake in my mandatory ones so I doubt I can manage extra lessons." Jaune let out a sigh as he took a drink from his water bottle.

"Something on your mind?" A voice asked. Jaune looked up to see a tall, well built, and older man standing before him. A gear clicked in his mind when he realized it was Ironwood.

"Ironwood! I mean sir, um..." Jaune stammered.

"No need to be nervous," He took a seat on the bench Jaune had been resting on. "Unless you happen to be planning an attack against the kingdom." He finished with a chuckle.

"Right. Well I'm just trying to figure what I'm going to for my classes this term and the next." Jaune explained. Ironwood raised an eyebrow, prompting Jaune to continue.

"My free class for this term is going to end up being Proper Grimm care with Professor Port and I think my future classes might end up being similar."

"I can see why you would be worried. What about extra combat classes?" Ironwood asked.

Jaune just shook his head.

"Dust?"

Same reply.

"Semeblence and Aura training?"

No again.

"What about battlefield tactics?"

"I didn't see that on my list of courses." Jaune replied.

"But would you like to learn?" Ironwood pressed.

"I don't have a background of anything like that but it sounds like an answer."

"Stay here." Ironwood stood up pulling out his scroll and walking a few paces away.

Jaune heard something about favors, Ozpin, and chess pieces. A few minutes later the general sat back down next to the blond with a small smile.

"what's your name?"

"Jaune Arc." Jaune replied realizing he never actually introduced himself.

"Welcome Jaune to battlefield tactics. I will be your professor. I expect you to be punctual and attentive." Jaune sat there unmoving not sure how to react. "And if you don't meet my standards you'll find yourself back in Port's class." With that the general walked away. Hiding a smile thinking to himself, "An Arc? He should be up to the challenge."

Jaune went back to his room, showered, and got dressed for dinner. In the dining hall team RWBY and the rest of team JNPR were waiting for him.

"Still in Port's class?" Yang teased from across the table.

"Nope." Jaune replied.

"Oh really?" Yang said speaking for the table, "What class did you end up in?"

"Battlefield tactics with General Ironwood." Jaune answered with a grin.

For a moment the only movement was Jaune eating.

"What?" was the collective response.

"Y-you do know what that class is about, right Jaune?" Pyrrha asked looking a bit pale.

"No. But anything is probably better than Port's right?" Jaune continued eating.

"Jaune let me put this in terms you might understand better," Weiss spoke up. "Pyrrha is taking an extra combat class so she can excel in the tournament. That class is only available to a select few."

"Well duh, I know that. Pyrrha is awesome." Jaune blushes a bit realizing he said that aloud while sitting next to Pyrrha. Unknown to Jaune she has a similar response.

"If you would let me finish..." Weiss growled "Ironwood only offers that class to students who he thinks would make excellent leaders or military advisors."

It was Jaune's turn this time to stop eating, nearly choking on his food instead, "W-what?!"

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><p><strong>And that's it for Chapter 1. Hope you enjoyed it. I don't own anything it belongs to Monty and Rooster Teeth. All feedback is welcome.<strong>


	2. Learning Curve

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I had to rewrite a lot and make OC's and other things that made writing this a bit of a pain. Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Jaune's mind was blank. He couldn't see anything and couldn't feel his body. He knew he was laying down but that was the only thing he was sure of. Until he felt the first slap. Then the second. Soon he felt himself being slapped rapidly. This was enough to remind him that being slapped hurt and he awoke in his dorm room on the ground with team RWBY, Nora, and Ren standing around him. Above him was Pyrrha who as he put two and two together must have been the one who was slapping him.<p>

"Ouch..." Jaune mumbled as he regained his senses.

"Sorry." Pyrrha said as she helped her leader stand up.

"So what happened?" Jaune asked. His mind was already trying to remember what happened last. He went for a run and had dinner and when everyone was talking he... His memory faded after that.

"You fainted." Ruby explained. "Weiss told you that the class you signed up for was advanced and you passed out." Weiss looked away for a moment as Ruby finished.

"Um, what class?" Jaune asked. His friends looked around the room trying to urge someone else to explain, again.

"Battlefield tactics with General Ironwood." Pyrrha said as she readied to catch Jaune.

"So why am I here?" Jaune was still a bit groggy.

"Well we weren't going to leave on the floor of the dining hall." Yang replied with a grin. "As funny as that would have been to see." She added to herself.

"We should get going," Blake urged. "Jaune probably needs some air."

With nods of agreement team RWBY left. Jaune flopped down onto his bed. The room was silent, his team members waiting to hear what their leader was going to do. As he lay on his bed he let his mind wander.

"So what are my options?" His inner voice asked.

"Port's class. Which is a minor hell. Or-" He thought at the voice.

"OR, we try Ironwood's class." The voice finished.

"But I'm not good at, well, most things! A tactics course for basically top students is like me trying to fight a full grown Ursa!" He retorted.

"You did. And won."

"Shut up. That was... different. It's just a saying..."

"If you don't try you will never know. It might come naturally to you or something will just click and you'll catch on quick. But you will never know if you quit now." The voice continued, "Ozpin picked you to be the leader of a team. And you train every night with Pyrrha. And Ironwood picked you. The people you look up to think you have potential, don't let them down."

"I guess I don't have a choice when you put it that way." Jaune thought.

The rest of team JNPR had been waiting for awhile before returning to their normal evening activities. Ren started his book while Nora listened to music. Pyrrha waited next to Jaune waiting for him to snap out of whatever he was thinking about. She wondered if she should slap him again to see if he was still conscious. It was then that she saw Jaune blink hard a few times as he stood up from his bunk.

"Thanks for not slapping me again." He said to Pyrrha, "And also for the training." He added in a smaller voice.

"Oh, you're welcome." She was a bit off guard, "Are you feeling any better?"

"Probably. I'm going to take the course. I've been given an opportunity to improve myself and if I ignore it then the rest of my training would be kinda worthless."

Pyrrha smiled at her leader. He was finally gaining confidence. The two simply went back to their bunks without another word and soon team JNPR's dorm room was dark as the team slept.

The first thing Jaune noticed about his new class was the size of the room. Unlike his other classes with had three columns of seating and many rows going back this class had only had two rows of seating, enough for about 20 people. There was still a desk in the front of the class but between the deck and the seats was a large table. From the doorway he couldn't make out what was on it but he could tell it looked like a map of sorts.

Next on Jaune's list of discoveries was that he was not the first one to class. There was a pair of students in the front row sitting next to eachother. They both wore Beacon's uniform but looked older than his friends. He reasoned that they were probably third years. Ironwood was nowhere to be seen.

He took the seat behind the two students and calmed his nerves. He wasn't sure why he was nervous but his stomach had been doing flips all morning and had to remind himself every few minutes that he was here for a reason.

"So are you going to introduce yourself or hide all class?" The boy in front of him asked after Jaune had been sitting there for a few moments silent.

"Jaune Arc. That's my name. I, uh, hello..." Jaune replied trying to hide his nerves.

"The name's Stahl Alloy. This fine lady here is Maryn. Ouch!" Stahl's introductions were interrupted when Maryn slugged him in the shoulder.

"Ignore Stahl here. He's just trying to sound cool. It's not often he gets the chance to try to impress a first year." She opened her mouth to continue when the three of them heard more people walk into the classroom. Two more students joined them. The pair came from Atlas, their uniforms gave it away.

Behind them Ironwood strode into the room. He took his place at the front of the class and waited for the pair to take a seat. For a few tense moments he simply watched the class. The students, Jaune in particular, started to feel uneasy. Ironwood's cold calculating stare seemed to fill the room.

"Good morning and welcome to battlefield tactics. As you are aware this class is an advanced course and all of you have been selected by me. Before we begin I will warn you about the consequences of failing. If you happen to fall behind or disappoint me I will drop you from my course and you will have to join another course." Jaune swallowed hard at the thought as Ironwood shifted tones. "This course has three portions. The first of which are my lectures, Next is testing your strength against one another using this battle station." He said gesturing towards and table in between him and the class. "The last part will be the, for lack of a better word, homework. These scrolls contain combat scenarios that will test your skills. For now only the first one is unlocked. Return to class tomorrow with it complete. That ends todays class," As he left the room he added, "Good luck."

The two students from Atlas left a few minutes later. Jaune spent a good 10 minutes getting comfortable with the controls before even trying to complete the homework. His heart sank as he was defeated pretty quickly. He tried it again and made more progress but was still soundly defeated.

In from of him the two other remaining students were having problems if their own. It started with them comparing strategies which had evolved into a full argument about which strategy was better. Jaune decided it was best to leave and maybe get Pyrrha's help on this after classes were done. As he packed up his things he was stopped by two rather disgruntled students.

"Leaving so soon?" Stahl asked.

"I- well, er, I was just going to work on this with my teammates after classes..." Jaune explained.

"Is that so?" Maryn pressed. "You aren't going to ask your upperclassmen for help first?"

"I-" Jaune was trapped and knew it. He couldn't point out how they hadn't won yet, but he also didn't want to join them. Instead he took the third option.

"I-"

He bolted. He made it about halfway down the hallway when he heard what sounded like a sniper round. Stahl flew past him and sunk an axe into the ground stopping his movement and blocking Jaune's path. Turning around he saw Maryn stroll down the hall with a mace in hand. Unlike Cardin's the end of it was a cannon ball with spikes.

"Why do you have weapons? That's against school rules?" Jaune asked.

Stahl walked up to Jaune and put an arm around his shoulder. "As third years we can be sent on missions at anytime so we have to be ready with our weapons."

Jaune returned to his dorm much later than his teammates. All of his free time that day had been claimed by the two third years. Even lunch and dinner had been stolen away. Stahl simply handed him some snacks from his bag and they all worked on the task at hand.

But now Jaune was free. Free to continue working on his homework. He frowned as he came to that realization and walked slowly into the room. Ren and Nora were on Ren's bed working on something together while Pyrrha sat at her desk reading a book. She looked up as Jaune walked in.

"Are you ready for training tonight?" She asked in her cheery voice. After giving Jaune a once over she continued. "Or do you need some time?"

"Let's just train. I need to get my mind off some things."

The two of them headed to the rooftops and warmed up. After a few rounds Jaune's mind was clear of problems and felt much better. He was even smiling. Pyrrha couldn't help but to smile as well, it was infectious.

The two of them took their stances and Jaune waited for Pyrrha to make her first move. As he waited he braced himself for what she might do. He imagined various attacks she might lead with and found the best stance that would allow for a counter or minimize the blow. Next he tried to think of what he could do if she dodged his attack. As he stood there he could imagine various paths of battle. Finally Pyrrha attacked and while Jaune couldn't keep pace with what he planned he held his own for awhile. As he lay on the ground he realized something important.

"Pyrrha I'm going to call it a night." Jaune said as he started to grab his gear and throw it into his bag.

"But we haven't even started Aura training yet." She replied disheartened.

"I promise to make it up to you but I really need to take care of something." He said as he was halfway through the door.

Jaune practically sprinted back to his room. He grabbed the scroll Ironwood gave him and started the scenario. After three failed attempts he was making progress. Soon he could tell the AI was losing and trying to defend. He pressed his advantage making sure to stifle the AI's attempts to regain ground. Pyrrha walked into the room after showering and saw Jaune working away, still in his armor and dirty from hitting the ground during training.

"Whatever he's doing better be worth it." She thought to herself.

As if on cue Jaune jumped up and yelled out in joy as he started to dance around the room. Nora not missing a beat joined in. Jaune was ecstatic. Pyrrha couldn't help but chuckle.

"Definitely worth it." She finished as she grabbed her book and began reading again.

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><p><strong>AN: And that's it for Chapter 2. Send me ideas or advice because feedback is always great. It lets me know if people want me to continue or not so please do. See you next time!**


	3. No Time to Relax

**First things first. I am so sorry for the delay. Like super duper sorry. Like if you want me to I can write you a personal apology if you want. I got swamped with a lot of different things all at once and it was crazy. But I'm back. And with a new chapter that took was a pain too write even without all the other hazards I was working around. But you're here for the story, not my excuses. Enjoy!**

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><p>"I'm pleased to see that all of you have returned." Ironwood started. Class had just begun. All the students had completed their first test, with varying levels of skill, and so the five students waited for their next task.<p>

"The rest of this week I will lead lectures on basics and such. Next week you will begin to employ those basics against each other using this console." He moved over to the board and began writing. "Today's lesson will be on the effectiveness of guerilla tactics..."

As Jaune left class he felt good. But not just any kind of good, it was that kind of good he felt after a really successful training session with Pyrrha. He smiled as he went to the rest of his classes, even the boring history course he often slept though. His sunny disposition was not lost on his friends when they meet up at lunch.

"Don't take this the wrong way but, Jaune, why are you smiling?" Ren asked. "Because normally after history class you look terrible."

"I'm just having a really good day today." Jaune explained. "Where's Blake?"

"Library," Weiss answered coldly. "Don't tell me you're going to start hitting on her too."

"NO!" Jaune blushed. "She's normally with us at lunch and so I was just wondering..."

"If she was sick or something." Pyrrha stepped in. "She has been looking a bit under the weather recently."

"That's what I was thinking too." Ruby chimed in. "I just didn't want to upset her."

"So you were waiting for the PURRfect moment?" Yang joked. Everyone groaned and lunch continued as normal.

And so did the rest of the week. Class, lunch, class, training, homework, repeat. Until friday that is. As Ironwood finished his lecture he assigned the homework for the weekend. It was another combat scenario just like they had been doing all week.

"I will warn you now that this assignment is difficult when compared to the previous scenarios. But I do have confidence that the lot of you can complete it. You may leave now or stay around for a few minutes until class is officially over."

Everybody but Jaune left quickly. He packed slowly lost in thought about what he was going to do this weekend. His train of thought was interrupted by Ironwood.

"Do you have a moment Jaune?" The general asked in a way that made it sound like more of a command.

"Of course sir." Jaune said as he finished putting the last of his things together. "What is it?"

"How do you feel about this class? Are you enjoying it? Do you feel like you are learning?"

Jaune was caught off guard for a moment. He never really thought about whether he enjoyed his classes or not. He knew he was learning, or at least retaining knowledge from class, but he never gave these types of things a second thought.

"I simply ask to make sure that you do not feel overwhelmed. I know that you are a first year and the rest of the class is made up of students who are third years or have prior training in this field. Some even have both. So are you feeling up to the challenge?"

"So far yes." Jaune replied, "I just hope I can keep up with my classmates next week."

Ironwood seemed to be satisfied with Jaune's answer and let him leave. The day continued normally with Jaune ending his day in Professor Goodwitch's class. Towards the end of class Glynda stopped had an announcement.

"As you are aware the Vytal festival is coming up soon. To make sure that you are all getting the training from class you need for the tournament you will all be required to spar with tournament rules at least once a week. You learned the basics of the rules last term but now you must hone your skills and learn to fight by these standards so that you may excel in the tournament and be a good representative of Beacon academy. Also starting monday the training arena will be open after classes for sparring matches. You are excused."

"Finally!" Jaune thought to himself after returning to his room and crashing on his bed. "This week has been almost too much to handle."

"You liked it, don't complain." His inner voice teased.

"Yeah but it was stressful. I'm looking forward to doing nothing for a few days."

"Except you can't. You have homework and training."

"I hate you sometimes you know that right?"

"Someone has to look out for you." The voice sounded more like Pyrrha again.

"There really isn't any impressing you is there?"

"Jaune!" Nora called, snapping her leader out of his trace. "I'm taking Pyrrha into town!"

"Okay." Jaune replied, he felt like taking a nap before dinner. Nora was suddenly very close to his face.

"You should come too..." She whispered.

"Uh, you're a bit close..."

"If you come I can invite Ren."

"If I say yes will you back up?"

"Ren, Pyrrha, get ready to go!" She said jumping up and facing the team. "Let's go shopping!"

"How is your explosives class with Nora?" He nodded ahead to the two girls. They had been walking around town for an hour or so with Nora leading the way, all the while talking Pyrrha's ear off.

"It seems more useful than I originally thought. As it turns out the curriculum covers more than just explosive rounds. How is your tactics class?" Ren replied.

"I'm not sure yet. Next week we start facing each other in simulations. I haven't had problems facing the computer when doing homework but real people are different."

"We're here!" Nora called out in a sing song voice. Grabbing Ren by the arm she dragged him away to the restaurant. Jaune and Pyrrha simply followed sharing a smile.

The teens enjoyed their meal. The food at Beacon was good but it was still school food. While the team ate, Jaune thought about his homework for the weekend. He had given it a glance or two between classes and was having trouble getting more than 5 minutes in before losing.

"Jaune is something on your mind?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just some homework for Ironwood's class." He said putting on a smile and rejoined the conversation.

"Do you have a primary strategy?"

"No. Or I don't think so. The goal is to capture a flag from the enemies base. I normally hold the line and try to gauge the strength of my opponent then form a plan to hit them where they are weak." Jaune explained to his team mates.

"Is there a way you can practice? Not against AI but against other people?" Ren asked.

"I think so." Jaune said pulling out the scroll. "Yeah. Good call Ren."

"May I try?" Asked Pyrrha asked.

"Uh sure." Jaune handed the scroll over to Pyrrha. The table was quiet as Pyrrha was quickly pulled into full concentration. No one spoke. The restaurant also seemed to go quiet. Pyrrha's face was an open book. Jaune could tell when she was losing, when she was winning, if she got trapped, or if she was just planning her next move. She glanced up for a moment and their eyes met. Jaune suddenly became aware that he was in fact staring at Pyrrha. He blushed and looked away.

"Well I can see why this is an advanced course. That was challenging." She handed the scroll back to Jaune. "Being able to lead forces on a large scale is a valuable skill. It's pretty impressive that you picked it up this quickly."

Sunday night came too quickly. Jaune had just returned from training with Pyrrha and was ready for bed. Sadly, he could not crawl into bed just yet. He needed more practice. Not in combat but in leading forces. While he was able to complete the tactics homework he was still nervous about the upcoming week.

"What if I get absolutely destroyed?" He thought to himself for the umteenth time.

"You won't" The voice replied.

"How do you know? It's not like I can retry human opponents until I know when to strike and when to hold. I get one, maybe two, chances."

"Okay fine, You get destroyed and lose terribly. So what?"

"I will get kicked out of class."

"No. Ironwood didn't say that. He said if you disappoint him he will kick you out. Not if you lose. Everyone loses at some point. He would be disappointed if you didn't even try."

Jaune decided to lay down in bed before continuing to argue with himself.

"That makes sense. But what about my other problem?"

"Sparring? You practice with Pyrrha Nikos every night. Not everyone here is as good as she is."

"Fine. I'm wrong. I'm totally going to outsmart third years and then kick ass and everyone is going to love me. Yay."

"You never know."

"Just spar someone you know you can beat." The voice continued.

"Pfft, like who?"

"Cardin Winchester."

"What?!"

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><p><strong>That's it for chapter 3. I'm hoping to have the next one up within two weeks. Oh god did I set a deadline for myself...<strong>


	4. Tardiness and the Three Line Volley

**Getting sick is terrible. Being bedridden is even worse. But at least I had a lot of time on my hands to work on my writing. Hopefully this is as good as it was in my head.**

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><p>Jaune was exhausted. Which was the last thing he wanted on a day like today. To make matters worse his mind was flooded with ideas. Different combat strategies and lines of play kept him up all night. Even at breakfast his mind was still working overtime trying to prep for taking on a human opponent in his tactics class.<p>

"Good morning sleepyhead." a voice broke into Jaune's mind. Looking up he saw it belonged to Ruby.

"Oh, hey Ruby. Good morning..." Jaune replied.

"I take it you didn't get much sleep last night?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Jaune, look around." She said gesturing to the rest of the dining hall. "Everyone gets the monday blues. But you are definitely far beyond that point."

She gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder has they returned their dishes.

"Just don't fall asleep in class like you used to do last term and you'll be fine." She said with a smile. And with that she left Jaune alone with his thoughts.

"Good morning class," Ironwood greeted as the class began. "today will certainly be busy day so let's get right to it. Jaune Arc. Maryn Baldwin." The two student stood up at the sound of their names. "You two shall be the first to compete against each other."

The match was a capture the flag scenario. The first team would hold the flag for as long as possible. The second team would attack until they claim it. Afterwards the teams switch. The match would be decided by which team took longer to capture the flag.

"Jaune would you like to attack or defend first?" Ironwood asked after flipping a coin.

"Attack." Jaune said.

"You may begin when ready."

Jaune took a breath and closed his eyes.

"Good thinking." The voice said.

"About what?" He thought back.

"You aren't very quick on the attack so giving yourself no time limit is good."

"Oh."

"And you make better decisions when on the defensive so you will have the advantage there as well."

"Any actual advice for me?"

"No advice just telling you what you did right or wrong."

"Why can't you give me at least a hint at what to do?"

"Because I'm you."

Jaune attacked swiftly at first. Using an all-out attack strategy to try and pierce his way through whatever defences Maryn was trying to build up. No such luck. His attack force was meet by one of equal strength.

After retreating and rebuilding his forces Jaune tried his next maneuver. He split was forces 60-40 and tried a flanking maneuver. The first flank attacked and was meet by the same defensive forces as last time. This time though the second flank attacked from the other side of the base. With most of Maryn's forces in combat the soldiers nearly captured the flag. Maryn was caught off guard but was quickly able to react and force Jaune to retreat.

Jaune looked up from the command module feeling defeated. He wasn't making any progress and time was ticking. Maryn on the other hand looked as calm as could be. She was sitting with her legs crossed on the chair she had brought over with headphones on and humming to herself while smiling.

"Okay, now what do I do..." He thought to himself.

"Look at your options."

"Like what?"

"What have you learned from your previous attacks?"

"Both times she has meet my forces with all her might."

"And-"

"When I flanked the second front almost made it though... So if I split her forces up enough I can sneak in and take the flag."

"No."

"Why not?"

"The same thing will happen. Think about what else you can change. Why can she move her forces around so easily?"

"We are fighting too close to the base."

"You know what to do?"

"We both already know the answer to that."

Jaune had 60% of his forces lead a charge straight to the front door of Maryn's base. Just like before she defended with a majority of her troops. Jaune's second wave attacked from the other side of the base and just like the time before Maryn was able to fend off the attack. Jaune began to retreat his forces ever so slightly. Maryn's forces continued the to fight as they moved away from the base. Just as it seemed Maryn's troops would return to their base, Jaune attacked with his last effort. The small group was able to pierce the weakened base and walk out with the flag in hand.

"It actually worked..." Jaune said with a sigh of relief. he leaned back in his chair as the battlefield changed. He was now in control of the hill and needed to defend from Maryn.

"You're going down." Maryn threatened from across the table.

"Jaune is the winner of the match." Ironwood declared as Maryn ran out of time.

"How did you hold off my forces so well?" Maryn asked after the match was over. "Most opponents can't handle all-out attacks back to back to back."

"I got lucky I guess." Jaune replied sheepishly. "I figured you would have a very offensive strategy so I used the three line volley."

"The what?" Maryn asked as the class was excused.

"I spent most of last night going over old strategies. A certain general I read about was about to be attacked. He knew that his foe used blitz strategies so he prepared for it. The three line volley is named for having three lines of gunners so that there is always at least one line firing and no more than one line reloading."

"Pretty impressive for a first year." Stahl said as he joined the two. "Why don't you eat lunch with us? It'll be our treat." He offered.

The three students left for lunch shortly thereafter. One of the benefits of being a third year was being able to eat off campus. While Jaune left Beacon on the weekends and sometimes grabbed food with his teammates there were plenty of places he hadn't tried. He soon found himself at a small cart that served flatbread sandwiches. The trio ordered and ate as they talked about school, home, and missions. As Jaune listened to their stories from the missions the two had been on he lost track of time.

"Wait! Aren't we supposed to be back at school now?" He asked grabbing for his things.

"Well you probably need to be back." Mayrn said as she leaned back in her chair. "Our classes are over for the day."

"Oh man I'm sorry about that. I totally spaced that you probably still had classes." Stahl apologized. "Maryn did you set this up?"

She simply stuck her tongue out while Jaune said his hurried good byes and ran back towards the school.

Back at Beacon Pyrrha was worried. Jaune was nowhere to be seen and professor Goodwitch was able to start combat class. Moments later her fears were realized when class began and Jaune was absent. Today was the first day of mandatory sparring. Students could either volunteer to be opponents or challenge one another.

Pyrrha was in luck as no one tried to challenge her. If anyone had she won't have even noticed. She was too deep in thought able where her leader was and why he wasn't here.

"Jaune won't skip class..." She reassured. "He might fall asleep sometimes but I'm sure he wouldn't skip. He did look really tired this morning... Did he take a nap in the dorm room during lunch?"

"Ren, did you or Nora happen to see Jaune when you went to the room during lunch?" She asked.

"I did not." Ren answered.

"I did!" Nora called from behind Ren. "He was getting on a shuttle to town with some girl."

Pyrrha heard it first. The sound of a person sprinting down the hall. The desperate panting from running a long distance. The heavy footfalls of exhaustion. She turned to see the source as it drew closer. One Jaune Arc stood in the doorway to class breathing heavily and with his armor half on.

"Wonderful." Glynda commented. "I hope you have a valid excuse for you tardiness."

Gasping for air he managed to choke out. "Some third years... tricked me." He took his normal seat next to Pyrrha as he finished adjusting his armor.

"Regardless you are still late." Glynda checked her scroll. "You are still very late for class. As a punishment you must compete tomorrow. I suggest you arrive on time."

Team JNPR's dorm room was quiet. Ren studied while Nora listened to music. Jaune was taking a nap. Before that when the team had return to their room he refused to speak to his team mates about the days events. Pyrrha tried to work on homework but kept glancing over at her leader, laying in his bed worn out and looking defeated. She hadn't seen him feeling this down in a long while. She wanted to cheer him up or at least help him in some way. But she knew that it would be better for him to come to her. Jaune was making progress in his training and he was gaining more confidence but she knew there were still somethings he won't accept help with.

Jaune woke up with a feeling of dread mixed with joy. He was able to beat a third year in class and normally he probably would have had his team go out for dessert or a movie or something to celebrate. But instead he was nervous and angry about tomorrow. Thanks to a 'harmless prank' he was going to made a fool of in front of everyone. He was only really left one option, to train with Pyrrha and hope he gets lucky tomorrow.

The two members of JNPR trained hard on the rooftop of Beacon. Pyrrha never held back against Jaune and tonight was no different. In Jaune's case he had some emotions to work out and knew Pyrrha could take it.

"You are doing this all wrong." The voice told him.

"Shut up." He commanded.

"You aren't thinking. You can't win with brute force alone."

"I said shut up!"

"If you fight like this tomorrow you will lose no matter how hard you try."

"Like it even matters! I'm going to lose no matter what who I face or what I try against them."

"If that's what you want to think go ahead."

"I think I have an idea for tomorrow if you want to hear it." Pyrrha asked as the two finished. When Jaune didn't reply Pyrrha continued on. "I could be your opponent tomorrow. Think about it. It would be just like it is when we train at night. No pressure or stress. Just us sparring like normal, but with an audience. So... What do you think?"

"Pyrrha..." Jaune wanted to smile but couldn't find in himself. "That won't work."

"What do you mean?"

"When you win, which you will, everyone will think you are just showing off by beating the weakest guy in class. Or if I win everyone will think you threw the match in my favor because we are on the same team. There is no situation where people don't think less of you afterward."

"Jaune, I don't care."

"But I do! I'm not going to bring my teammates down."

"If that's what you want..." Pyrrha said as she left the roof.

"It's not..." He said once she was gone. "But it's the best I can do right now."

Jaune was on autopilot all day. He felt terrible about what he said to Pyrrha. It was the first time he had got into a fight with one of his friends since coming to Beacon. He was walking to combat class when he stopped to think for a moment.

"Was that even a fight?" He thought to himself.

Nothing.

"Oh, so now you won't talk to me? Just great. I guess I have to deal with all this myself. Just really, really, great..."

After a moment Jaune realized.

"But's what I wanted right?"

"So are you going to listen to me now?" The voice said.

"I probably should."

"Good. You know Pyrrha is going to try to convince Goodwitch to make you two spar."

"Yep."

"You know how to stop that from happening right."

"Yep."

"Good. Now go do what you have to do."

"This is going to suck..."

"Today Mr. Arc will be facing an opponent. Do we have any volunteers?" Professor Goodwitch asked. No one responded. A moment passed and Pyrrha stood up. "Ah, Ms. Nikos," she turned to face Jaune. "Unless you have a specific opponent in mind Pyrrha will be your opponent."

Jaune could feel the stare of everyone in the room. He knew what he had to do.

"I want to challenge Cardin Winchester." He stated.

* * *

><p><strong>I should mention I ship Arkos. So that should explain a little of whats going on here. As always I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will continue reading.<strong>


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